Verisimilitude
by gurechi
Summary: Naruto mopes in the dark. Sasuke ponders about his partner. Life goes on. SasuNaru
1. Lost

**Verisimilitude**

By gure

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Comments: After I wrote this, I realized just how bad it was. One day I will revise it until I'm content with it, but for now, anyone reading this will have to suffer along with me in the knowledge that this is one horrible piece. ~_~;;

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**Chapter 1: Lost **(Naruto)

He hated him.

That annoying arrogant smirk. His all-knowing gaze. His deep unfathomable eyes. His ebony hair and pale complexion. How all the girls flocked around him, cooed over him as if he were some god. How he coolly ignored them. For some reason, that always pissed him off. He hated him! He hated that arrogant bastard who looked down on him, called him names, and made him look worse than he already was! They mocked him, threw insults at him, and the idiot only made it worse. It made him feel more insecure, more worthless, and entirely useless. He despised those emotions. He wanted to kill those feelings, to stomp on them until they never came back, to take them head on and stab it over and over again. But at the same time, he just wanted to forget, to ignore them until they stopped hurting him. And he knew. He knew that it was quite futile to compare himself with Sasuke, as he always found himself falling woefully short. It was pathetic. And he had always said he would defeat all odds and become the Hokage, when he couldn't even compare himself to Sasuke. They were right. He was all talk, all bravado, with no sustenance to back himself up.

            Depressed, Naruto slumped further into the mattress of his bed. It was always about 'Sasuke, Sasuke-kun' and never about him. He was an outcast, a monster, an orphan, a loner. Was he really that unworthy? Was he really as monstrous as people said? Naruto felt a lump in his throat. He hated it when he got like this. Depressed, useless, alone. And it would always happen deep in the night when sleep claimed everyone else. It always happened when everything was consumed in shadows. Naruto shivered under the thin threadbare sheets and hid his face in his pillow. It was during the night he realized what a freak he really was. He was a part of the Kyubi, just as the Kyubi was a part of him. He couldn't do anything about that. But it was lonely being alone with his thoughts, especially at night when he had only the shadows to accompany him.

           Maybe he should run over to Iruka-sensei's house and sleep there, where there would at least be a familiar someone. But he didn't want to bother Iruka-sensei who already did so much for him, more than anybody else had ever done for him in his life. Naruto briefly considered stopping by at Sasuke's place, but scolded himself immediately afterwards. Sasuke was his rival! He hated that guy! He wasn't supposed to have anything to do with that jerk! Sighing, Naruto finally decided to train some more. He might as well do something if he couldn't sleep, and training more would help him get closer to Sasuke's level. Slowly climbing out of the bed, Naruto cautiously looked around, the darkness no hindrance to his extremely keen eyes. Pupils dilated, Naruto carefully dressed and then went out the front door. It was cold outside, as the nights in the village were wont to be, extremely cold nights and relatively warm days. He bounded into the direction of the forest and settled himself several miles away from the village and trained.

The training continued night after night.


	2. Regrets

**Verisimilitude**

By gure

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Comments: Sorry about the grammar. This chapter was difficult to write. It was too hard to come up with alternate ways of describing Naruto. Hope you guys know what I'm writing about. R&R.

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**Chapter 2: Regrets (Sasuke)**

            Sasuke was suspicious. Something was off about Naruto. His normal hyperactivity was dissipating at a quick rate, and that constant grin he always wore on his face had been faltering a lot lately. Sasuke had caught those looks of uncertainty on the blond-haired boy's face. Naruto had been almost quiet, almost withdrawn, which was extremely abnormal for him. He had always compared Naruto's bright and warm smiles to the sun. It made him want to smile despite everything. But the glow that Naruto's smiles contained were dimming and he found himself worrying about his partner. That concern, he noticed, came naturally to him, as odd as it seemed, just like that time when he automatically shielded Naruto from the brunt of Haku's darts with his own body. He didn't like feeling concerned, especially for someone reckless and loud like Naruto. The feelings he thought he had locked up were struggling to burst out, and it was getting hard for him to control them. In fact, his feelings and emotions had gone from nearly nonexistent to something he was painfully aware of. Sometimes he felt as if he were betraying his clan, his parents. By feeling, he had lost the silent reverence that he vowed to keep when thinking about them.

            And these emotions he was feeling for Naruto were unacceptable. Was it really wrong? To feel again? To become human again? He was afraid of caring too much. If he were to suffer a loss for a second time, he didn't know if he would ever be able to pick himself up. That time with Haku…He had been panicked and extremely torn in that split moment as he watched deadly darts fly towards Naruto. And so he had protected Naruto. It was something he was naturally compelled to do, and he didn't want to lose someone important to him ever again.

            Naruto could have understood him, how he worked and what made him who he was. Even though he was a loud-mouthed brat, who, to his dismay, had a crush on Sakura, his existence was just as lonely, if not more, as his own. Because of this, he felt as if he had special understanding with the blue-eyed boy, a bond that only those who had experienced and suffered that painful heart-jerking sense of loneliness could have. It was the feeling of alienation, of betrayal, that bound them together, and yet kept them apart.

            Naruto, he knew, had suffered from discrimination ever since he was born. He never really paid attention to the blonde genin in the past, but that didn't mean he had been totally oblivious to situations that Naruto had to face. Sasuke remembered hearing the lilting and sing-song voices of other students mocking Naruto. He remembered seeing Naruto's head bent downward, his burnished hair covering his eyes. He knew what those eyes held. Years of insults made those eyes sad and lonely. Years of cruelty coming from the people of his own village made him feel betrayed, and now, after a life of this sense of alienation, his eyes held a resigned emptiness. And he had tried to cope. He had swallowed the pain and painted a grin on his face. He made himself loud and annoying, to live up to the reputation that they gave him, and in which he had no choice but to live up to. 

            He remembered now, seeing the boy sitting despondently alone by himself on the swing that was attached to the big oak tree on the outer school borders. He had been walking home that day, and excited to show his parents his achievements, he had taken a shortcut that unknowingly led him to Naruto. He remembered that he had glanced indifferently at him, and had gone on home to the comfort of his family. He regretted not giving the boy a chance, and now he had to pay the consequences. 

Naruto hated him, saw him as just another obstacle he had to conquer, just another person who had never bothered to understand him or had never given him a chance to prove himself. Why should Naruto give him a second chance when he never received any sympathy from anyone? Why should Naruto try to comprehend him when Sasuke never even bothered to see how much it pained Naruto to be excluded in the past? He didn't deserve Naruto's understanding. And he knew he wouldn't receive any. But no matter what he knew wouldn't work, he hoped just a little that Naruto would someday forgive him.

He hoped that one day, Naruto wouldn't hate him anymore for gaining Sakura's attention or for acting so cold and conceited. He had to admit he often acted exceedingly snobby in front of the orange-clad ninja. It made him feel more in control of things, so that he wouldn't break down in front of anyone. He tried to act strong to cover up his vulnerability, but Naruto only triggered his weakness, making him act coldly for fear of anyone discovering his susceptibility.

            Sasuke regretted doing many things. He also regretted for not doing things he should have done. He was a giant ball of regrets. A giant ball of _tangled_ regrets that no matter how much he tried to unravel, would never be undone. 


	3. Strength

**Verisimilitude**

By gure

Comments: Haven't updated for the longest time. I could probably tell you guys that I've developed a horrible life-threatening illness and have just recovered from it, or how my computer broke down on me and everything on my hard drive was lost or something like that. But no, none of that happened. I was just lazy and I hadn't felt like writing anything for a long period of time.

Anyhow, this particular chapter's been sitting in my hard drive half-written for the longest time, and I finally decided to just finish it and post it rather than let it continue desolately sitting there.

You'll probably notice how I repeat a lot. Well, it's supposed to be like that. And yes, you're probably going to wonder why Naruto keeps contradicting himself here. That's supposed to happen also. Oh yeah, it's also horribly choppy and quite random, how his thoughts change from one thing to another. Keep in mind that in this fic, Naruto's battling with himself over his inconsistent thoughts and tumultuous feelings about things he likes and doesn't like. Very mild, almost invisible shounen ai. R&R please.

Chapter 3: **Strength** (Naruto)

Naruto loved and hated the rain.

He liked the feeling of refreshing droplets on his skin, but he hated the fact that the sky would always turn a desolate grey. It made him think of cold eyes, a grey so dark it could have been mistaken for black. Eyes he could get swallowed in, and he wouldn't mind. He groaned and stopped himself from thinking along those lines. But he enjoyed the rain, really he did, although he admitted it was a bit cold laying out on the open ground, while icy drops fell on him.

He loved the feeling of curling up into a warm comforter on a rainy morning as he listened to the soothing rhythmic tap of raindrops hitting solid surface. But he hated the way the raindrops reminded him of past wounds. It made him feel nostalgic, quiet, and sometimes depressed. He hated that.

He was supposed to smile and shout; he was supposed to be happy and looking forward to the future when he would become the Hokage. He was Uzumaki Naruto. He shouldn't know when to give up, because he had goals he really wanted to achieve. And he would make people acknowledge him; he wanted them to accept him for who he was as a whole and not for what was a part of him. Every time Naruto thought about this, he would become energized once more, temporarily satisfied to spend his energy, his time, and his willpower to something he really wanted.

But then each day would end, and tired from the training and missions that day, he would be reminded of the mindless insults that people uncaringly threw at him. _He didn't matter. He was not wanted. He was a monster. He didn't belong. He should stop trying. He was only a hindrance._ And no matter how many times he told himself that he didn't care, it still rubbed painfully at his heart every time he thought about it. After all, wasn't it his real wish to be recognized? To be accepted as a part of their own? To be seen and heard, to laugh with people and not be the one they laughed at?

He was weak, and the rain seemed to mock him with their glittering magic. When he was younger, he had always thought the rain held magical properties. He had believed it would lend a magical hand to make things different. But it never happened, and he grew to detest the rain. It was supposed to clean him! It was supposed to make him forget, to make his life something worthwhile, some place he could call "home." Yet the rain did nothing for him, and he had learned not to believe or rely on anything. They would only rip apart his wishes in the end.

Naruto had learned, from hard personal experience that one could only rely on himself. Where were his friends when he wanted somewhere to turn to? Whose shoulder could he possibly cry on? Where was a friendly hand when he needed help? As far as Naruto knew in his love-depraved mind, he was on his own. And he was fine with that. He had long since gotten used to his loneliness, although a tiny part of him still yearned for someone to care for him. But he had squelched that feeling to the crevices of his mind. He would be strong now, for himself and for the village that denied him. Naruto couldn't help but develop an emotional attachment to the Leaf Village; it was the only thing he had and could say that he was a part of.

Naruto stared up to the sky. His yellow locks and clothing had long been soaked through by the torrent of rain, but he didn't mind. The cold made him feel numb, would make him forget for a moment the thoughts that haunted him. Naruto shivered, slowly got up from the ground, and turned to stumble back to his dingy abode. Hair darkened and plastered to his head, one more thought flitted through his hazed mind as he fainted on his own doorstep.

From now on, he would be strong.


	4. Disguise

**Verisimilitude**

By gure

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Comments: Er. An update because I felt compelled to finish this story soon. But does anyone even care about this story anymore? Gonna rush it along now…

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Chapter 4: **Disguise**

Wrong. There was something glaringly wrong about this situation. It was a daily routine for all the members of Team 7 to meet at the bridge, whether or not there was a mission to be completed. It was currently 10 in the morning, just about one more hour before the time Kakashi usually showed up, and Naruto was no where to be seen… which was odd, because he was usually the first or second one there.

Sasuke frowned and then turned to find Sakura staring at him.

"What?" Her staring was starting to annoy him.

"Ano… Sasuke-kun, I was wondering… shouldn't Naruto be here by now?" she placidly replied, trying to make conversation.

Sasuke grunted as the girl expressed his own question out loud, and then turned away from her.

"I'm going to get the idiot. Wait for Kakashi-sensei and tell him where I went if he comes. I'll be back." He turned to look at the rising sun and then started walking off the bridge, a little eager to go find Naruto although his expression was still sullen.

Sakura just sighed and nodded her agreement as she gazed longingly at the raven-haired boy as he walked out of her sight. She could always daydream while she waited.

---

The sight that greeted Sasuke scared him more than he could admit.

"Naruto, you idiot! Naruto! Wake up!"

The loud exclamation was unheeded and the blond continued to lie motionless on the floor. Sasuke cursed and gathered the blond to his arms, checking his vital signs and sighing in relief when he found a pulse. It was beating erratically, but it was something. He picked the boy up, cradled him carefully against his chest and ran as fast he could to the hospital.

---

All was silent and peaceful. There was no pain, no sadness, just a comforting void and a sense of calmness—until the hard jolt woke him up.

He was moving quickly, and the movement caused him to gag and feel extremely sick to the stomach. He opened his eyes groggily, but his eyes could not see anything but the brightness of the light. His face felt uncomfortably hot, but the rest of his body just felt numb and cold.

He was being carried by someone. That much he could tell, but he couldn't tell who. His head rolled back as that particular someone jumped off something high. Naruto groaned and tried to form words, but nothing came out but a gurgle.

But apparently that had gotten the attention of the person carrying him.

"Naruto! Hold on, we're almost there." The voice was mellow and low, although there was an undertone of carefully hidden worry and fear tinged within his words.

But he didn't really care anymore, because he was so tired. And he felt like throwing up even though there was nothing in his stomach. The movement and the wind rushing pass his ears took its toll on him, and once more, the light grew dark and he felt nothing.

---

A smooth cool hand. It felt good against his feverish skin. He woke up feeling slightly better than before, but the headache was still there. He shifted a little, feeling that hand move and slide down his cheeks.

"Naruto…" The voice now sounded familiar. It was the one from before. He also recognized it to be his number one rival, Sasuke, yet the tone of his voice felt alien.

He coughed and tried to speak. "Sa-Sasuke…?" He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry and felt like sandpaper. The hand disappeared for a moment, and then a cup was put to his mouth. Naruto greedily swallowed the refreshing water, soothing his sore throat. The cup disappeared and the hand did not touch him again.

"Dobe." Calm, low, brooding.

What happened? Naruto frowned and tried to open his eyes. He lifted his hands to rub them, as he blinked unsteadily at the black and blue blob in front of him.

"Sasuke..? I can't see you…" He started to panic as he rubbed his eyes again and then once more tried to look forward.

Two cool hands covered his eyes gently and pushed his head back down to the pillow.

"Calm down. Just take it more slowly. I don't know what happened, but you're sick, and your eyes are having a hard time adjusting to the light." Sasuke was worried, but he kept his voice calm and his temper down, for now. There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask the idiot, but now was not the time to be angry at him.

Naruto breathed slowly and then moved the hands away from his eyes. A face came into focus, and his heart calmed when he knew he hadn't lost his vision. He saw Sasuke, and felt his face heat up when he realized he was still holding Sasuke's cool hands. Releasing his hold quickly, Naruto blurted out the first thing that came to his mind; his tone of voice came out harsher than he expected

"What happened? What did you do to me? Why are you here?"

A pause. And then a furious voice answered him. "You're asking me? Maybe you can tell me why you were lying wet in front of your own doorstep, almost half dead from malnourishment and fatigue when I found you. Why the heck did the doctor tell me you were emaciated and why didn't you change intro dry clothes when you got out of the rain? Are you that useless that you can't even take care of yourself!"

Sasuke regretted the moment those words flew out of his mouth, but his anger for both Naruto and himself had blown its top, and his control had slipped. He was angry at Naruto for not taking care of himself, and he was angry at himself for not seeing the signs of fatigue that had overcome the blond for the past few weeks.

The blond looked down silently, eyes covered by his blond fringe. He winced at Sasuke's angry voice and stared dejectedly at his hands. Everything came rushing back him. It was true, all what Sasuke said. He had failed to take care of himself. As a shinobi, not only was he supposed to be able to take care of himself, he was also supposed to be strong enough to look after the village. But if he couldn't even look after himself, how was he supposed to take care of the village? Useless, just as Sasuke said.

He knew his limits, yet he ignored that voice that told him to stop. And now he paid the price. He knew that what little respect Sasuke had for him in the first place was probably flushed down the drain. All that effort and all that time he had tried to get the other boy to acknowledge him… and now it was gone because of his own blind stupidity.

He really felt like crying, but he remembered the last thought he had before he had blacked out. He was going to be strong, no matter if it killed him. As long as he was strong, Sasuke's opinion wouldn't affect him. _Be strong, other people's opinions can't hurt you. As long as you know you're strong, you can do it, _his mind told him repeatedly.

Naruto stared resolutely at his hands as time ticked silently between him and Sasuke. The environment around them was becoming tense enough to snap. Taking a deep breath, Naruto lifted his head as he managed to pull a vulpine grin that covered the pain in his eyes. His eyes closed in that fox-like curve and the stretch of his smile was so wide, he felt like his face was going to split. But he swallowed it all down as he reminded himself that this was his way of being strong.

"Hahaha—you're right, I'm useless, but I'll become stronger! In fact, I'm feeling a lot stronger right now. That was such a good lesson to myself! No problem! I'll just go on home and eat now. Don't want to become even more useless, huh. After all, not all of us can be so perfect so effortlessly like you! Bye!"

Realizing he was gibbering, Naruto precariously got up from the hospital bed as quickly as he could, keeping a wide berth from the still silent Sasuke, and stumbled hurriedly back home. Once he reached the hospital door, he sprinted away from the hospital until he had reached his own apartment. He realized that none of the hospital employees had even tried to stop him from leaving. He gave a bitter laugh as he closed the door behind him. His headache was worse now, but he knew it was because he had expended his body's energy and resources. He really shouldn't have ran back, but he hadn't want to be around Sasuke anymore.

Stumbling to his bed in the corner of the one-room, studio apartment, Naruto passed out, promising himself to eat when he woke up. He was just too tired to do anything else right now.

---

Sasuke was stunned. He thought he had Naruto down by now, and he had been ready for any furious and violent response the blond might have had, but that inhumanly giant grin had fazed him, knocked him silent and dead on as he stared unblinkingly into Naruto's wide grin. The blond hadn't even tried to argue back. Instead, he had agreed with him!

He hadn't really been ready for that. The words that Naruto spoke sounded sincere and very much like his usual tone, but he knew that the angered words he had delivered to the blond had been hurtful and unfeeling. By the time he had recovered from his shock, he was dismayed to find that Naruto had disappeared from his sight.

He walked out of the hospital room in deep thought only to be greeted by the two nurses and the doctor that had reluctantly tended to the blond when he had brought him in unconscious.

"Did you see that? He just ran out of this hospital like a lunatic! Hmph! Ungrateful brat! Good riddance! He's tainting this prestigious hospital anyway!"

Feeling fed up, Sasuke told them to shut up as he walked out of the hospital. Once more, he recalled the grin that Naruto had placed on his face when he had answered him. He had hurt the blond, so why was he still smiling so widely? Shouldn't he have been angry at Sasuke's words? Why hadn't he yelled or argued back?

A thought passed him, as he suddenly stopped walking. It was then Sasuke realized that Naruto had not even looked at him. There was no anger or emotion in his eyes because his eyes had been closed in smile the whole time.

To be continued…


	5. Gratification

**Verisimilitude**

By gure

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Comments: I am alive. Yeah, I realize it's been a while. Sorry for the delay.

I know this story really doesn't apply anymore, as the original story has branched off into unmentioned territory. I've decided to post this chapter anyway since it was sitting in my hard drive for a long time. So here it is. Not sure if I will continue the story, though. That, and I'm sure everyone who's been following this story has already given up on it ever being finished. :X

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Chapter 5: **Gratification**

The next two weeks went by in slow motion for Sasuke. His thoughts kept on going back to Naruto's close-eyed smile, and every time he looked back on it, that smile disturbed him even more.

Now that he thought about the past when Team Seven had just formed, he realized that Naruto would often use that smile.

The fox smile, with his eyes squinted shut in an arch and his mouth curved into the most ridiculously large grin that Sasuke had ever seen. That smile did not belong on the Naruto's delicate boyish face.

And he was such an idiot that he didn't realize sooner what that smile meant. It was Naruto's mask, that fox-like grin that prevented people from looking into his eyes and giving himself away. Whenever the blonde boy wanted to hide something, he used that smile.

And to think that no one ever paid attention to that grin, not knowing why he did that, and just shoving it aside as something weird. Something to separate the fox-like boy from themselves.

_His grin's weird, he's weird, and he's not one of us. He's just a loser that likes to goof of_, they had whispered among themselves.

Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted as he heard sounds coming toward his direction. He was currently sitting underneath the shade of a large tree, waiting for the rest of his team mates and Kakashi to show up. But the sounds only turned out to be a family of squirrels scurrying off to the protection of their tree.

Not surprisingly, after that day when he found Naruto unconscious, the boy had once more taken the role of the team goof-ball. Apparently he had taken Sasuke's words about taking care of himself seriously, and the pallor of his skin had improved. Kakashi had looked a bit concerned at first, but had pretty much left things alone. Sakura was relieved that the blond was acting more like his usual self, and had even good-naturedly declined the blonde's invitation to go on a date without her usual snide remarks.

And the boy had just grinned at Sasuke with 'that' grin and called him the usual asshole.

Everything was the way it was before, with several miniscule exceptions that only Sasuke noticed. Although Naruto had attempted to rile him up like he always did, Sasuke no longer found those actions irritating. As much as Naruto tried to start arguments or fights with him, it no longer seemed appealing for him to fight with the blonde. After several days of attempts, the blonde had gotten the point and had just left him alone, still calling him an asshole and a jerk when talking to Kakashi or Sakura.

But there was a rift that was threatening to grow larger between them. For the most part, the blonde had started to ignore him indirectly. He still addressed Sasuke when he needed to, but his attention was always on anything or anyone other than Sasuke. He would chatter nonsense to Sakura and Kakashi, make a fool of himself with everyone else, but he never tried to get Sasuke's attention.

That was something Sasuke found disheartening. He missed the blonde's need for attention, especially when the blonde tried to get him to acknowledge him. But it seemed like Naruto no longer cared about what he thought of him, or anyone else for that matter. And that seemed wrong somehow, because didn't Naruto always make a big deal about people paying attention to him? All those times he tried to get everyone to acknowledge him, to see him, to look at him. Didn't he care anymore?

But after that hospital debacle, there seemed to be a lack of passion and drive in the blonde's recent actions. He fooled around and goofed off, but it seemed half-hearted. More like it seemed like he was trying too hard. And it was driving Sasuke crazy that no one else but him noticed it at all.

Couldn't anyone else see that Naruto was not himself? This was not Naruto. Naruto was more real than that.

But of course, wasn't it because no one ever knew the real Naruto in the first place?

---

"Sasuke-kun! Ohayou! You're early as usual!" cried Sakura as she hurried to sit beside Sasuke under their tree.

Sasuke just grunted and closed his eyes as he laid his head back against the rough trunk.

But the girl just kept on chattering, trying to fill in the silence of the dawn. "Mou! Naruto's always the last one. But you know Sasuke-kun, secretly I'm a little glad that Naruto's back to normal. He was a little odd those couple of weeks, but I can see that it was just a phase."

Sasuke frowned as he took in Sakura's words. Something flitted across his mind and clawed on his brain, but he couldn't for the life of him think of what it was.

Just then, a large shout was heard coming their way, once again breaking Sasuke's concentration.

"Sakura-chan! Ohayou! I managed to wake up just in time today! But then I couldn't find any milk in the fridge, and I had to make do with just water. So boring!" Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head as he made his way to the pink-haired girl's spot underneath the tree.

"Oi, bastard, morning to you too!" Naruto quipped when he realized that the dark-haired boy was, as usual, sulking underneath the tree. Not expecting a reply from the Uchiha, Naruto continued to chatter mindlessly to Sakura.

"Ne ne Sakura-chan, I read my horoscope in today's newspaper, and it said that the person of my dreams will accept me if I confessed to them. Ehehe… so what about it? Will you accept me, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura just stuck her tongue out in an unladylike fashion at the blonde boy.

"Baaaaka! Dream on! That horoscope needs to be corrected."

Naruto just pouted and laid himself a little ways off from the rest of his team mates. Instead of the shade, he preferred the early morning sun to be shining down on him directly. He curled up just like a cat and yawned as the sun's warm rays bathed him in its glow. His grin left his lips as he made sure to turn carefully away from his team mates. I'll be stronger today than I was yesterday, he thought as he dozed off.

The silence made Sasuke open his eyes. To his right sat Sakura, eyes off-focus. She seemed to be doing her share of daydreaming for that day. His eyes then darted to Naruto, whose back was turned towards them as he lay on the green grass near the bridge, right under the sun.

Sasuke frowned lightly as he stared at Naruto's back while he tried to fish around for his thoughts. He was thinking about something earlier, but he had forgotten what it was. Of course it had something to do with Naruto, but it just wouldn't come to him.

---

"Ahaha… sorry I'm late. I got deterred on my way here this morning when someone tried to steal my book from out of my hands."

"Who would want to steal your perverted book, Kakashi-sensei?! You liar!"

"Mou Kakashi-sensei! You're the worst!"

"…"

Kakashi just chuckled at his students' lively responses.

"We have a more serious mission today. It seems like there have been some gang activity happening around the borders near the forest. It's the Hokage's orders that we take a look at this problem and capture anyone suspicious. However, it is also orders that we have to work together. We are not to let each other out of sight; we are to make ourselves as scarce as possible, and if any of us find anything suspicious, we are to let the rest of the team know before recklessly throwing ourselves into the situation. Understand?"

Kakashi-sensei's voice had taken on a more serious tone, and Team Seven knew that this was indeed a more serious mission than normal. They nodded their heads in acknowledgement as they followed their sensei to the borders of the forest surrounding West Konoha.

"Ah, before we go, Naruto, Sakura, you need to change into something more durable and less conspicuous. You must also bring the rest of your weapons with you as well a small satchel of food. We may have to sleep out tonight. We'll meet here again in exactly half an hour. Oh yah, and Naruto, if you don't have any clothes that aren't orange, you might want to borrow some clothes from Sasuke. Ja!"

And with those words, Kakashi smiled and disappeared. Sighing, Naruto began to head back to his apartment, wondering what he had to wear that was less distinguishable. He did not even want to think about borrowing clothes from Sasuke. However, a hand stopped the blonde boy from going further. He whirled around at the interruption and glared at Sasuke's hand.

"What do you want? I need to go get my stuff…" he mumbled somberly.

"Idiot, you don't have any clothes that aren't orange, do you?"

There was a silent pause, and Sasuke could almost hear the gears clicking in the dobe's head. He stared at the blonde boy's face and almost smiled (almost!) at his pouting face.

"Yes I do…" muttered Naruto. "Now just leave me alone."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and a frown settled on his face as he tightened his grip on the other boy's arm.

"Stop being stubborn, dobe. I already know you don't have any suitable clothes for stuff like this. Now just stop being pigheaded and come with me already." Turning around, Sasuke started dragging Naruto in the opposite direction, only to stop abruptly when the irate blonde swirled around to swipe at his stomach.

Sasuke dodged at the last minute and pulled his arm out, twirling Naruto around and trapping the smaller boy against his chest. Growling in pain, Naruto tried to force his way out of Sasuke's arm with no luck as he was just hurting himself. Sasuke's death grip ensured that a victim could not escape without injuring themselves first.

The blonde stubbornly tried to remove himself from Sasuke's grip, his face contorted slightly in pain. There had to be a way out of his grasp without causing further injury to himself.

Sasuke sighed. "Stop, dobe." The boy was obviously hurting himself, and as much as Sasuke was glad to see the dobe being back to his stubborn self, he didn't want him to end up hurt for the mission.

"No! Let me go! Sasuke-bastard! Idiot! Asshole! Octopus! Rotten creep!" The boy continued to spit out a long list of creative insults, some that made Sasuke raise an eyebrow in surprise.

But things were getting a little out of hand, and Sasuke decided to end it. "Naruto."

His voice allowed no questions, firm and extremely serious. And apparently, its effect on Naruto was immediate. The other boy deflated, slumping into arms, his legs giving way. Sasuke had to clutch the boy tighter to stop them both from tumbling to the ground.

"…you bastard…" Naruto whispered hatefully, energy depleted. He turned his face away to hide his shame when Sasuke tried to peer into his face.

The dark-haired boy frowned. There was obviously something wrong with Naruto, and it frustrated Sasuke that he didn't know the reason. He thought back to the thoughtless words he had blurted out at the hospital and then closed his eyes in resignation. It couldn't be helped. Naruto was upset at him, and he couldn't interrogate the blonde if he was unwilling.

As difficult as this was for him to do, Sasuke pushed his stubborn pride down and opened his mouth to apologize.

"Naruto… I'm sorry… for that time at the hospital. Those words, I was just frustrated because I never noticed anything. I know you can take care of yourself if you wanted to. So won't you get up and come with me?" Those were the hardest words Sasuke ever had to say, and he looked down hopefully at Naruto's face.

It seemed Naruto had gone into slight shock at his solemn apology. Then those blue eyes looked sharply up at him, narrowed and weary, as if Sasuke were going to take back his words.

When he found Sasuke's eyes to be serious and even slightly wistful, he slowly got up to his feet with the help of Sasuke's grip still around him. "Fine. Let's go then."

Sasuke silently sighed in relief at Naruto's acquiescence and withdrew his arms from the blond boy's waist. The lost of warmth and the emptiness he felt surprised him, but he ignored it. The blonde had already walked on ahead of him, face turned backwards to stare impatiently at him.

"Come on, hurry up, slowpoke! And I want to eat some ramen before we go too! And you better treat me!"

Sasuke smirked slightly at Naruto's demands. Trust the blonde to forgive him after he ate his wallet away first.

"Che- with the amount you eat, we'll never get to the mission until tomorrow," Sasuke quipped in response. "Dobe," he added quietly as an afterthought. The blonde fumed indignantly at his response and stomped on ahead, cheeks puffed out in a cute pout.

Things finally seemed to look up from the weeks of tension between him and Naruto. But new questions had already been awakened in his brain, questions that had been lying dormant in his head until now.

But for now, he decided to humor Naruto's appetite and try to prevent the blonde from eating him out of his house.

A soft barely noticeable smile graced Sasuke's pale lips.


End file.
